Downtown Bridgeport

OK, I might be wrong about that. But Day #3 of the Running of the Bulls is complete with no deaths to report. But the bulls promise to rally tomorrow. I kind of hope this guy gets it.

Edit: Here's some older pics where the bulls win.

Wednesday Morning Pick Me Up

From An Email

Someone emailed pointing out a softball team for girls 12 and under being named "Texas Hold'em." Yeah, I know it's a poker reference, but still, kinda funny.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

- I always look in rear view mirror when I'm coming to a stop. I just expect the guy behind me not to be paying attention - although there is probably little I could do about an impending collision.
- I hate small talk with the hair cutter. She started asking about my life yesterday and, for some crazy reason, I just started making stuff up.
- From a news video yesterday, I noticed that Obama wears a tank top like undershirt (which also means that his the fabric of his white dress shirt is too thin). I always wear a regular T-shirt and really don't see the point of the tank top type.
- And who is this "Barnett" of the Barnett Shale?
- There will be, certainly, a bust to this natural gas boom. It has to happen. So when will the crash occur? I'll bet on 2012. Maybe March 12th. At 10:33. That's A.M.
- Fox 4 News has it in for Dallas DA Craig Watkins. And that guy is due for a fall.
- The judge throwing out the blood test results in Dalworthington Gardens doesn't have any impact locally (nurses, not cops, withdraw the blood around here.) But I feel sorry for the defendant in that case. Up until yesterday she was just one of a thousand DWI cases in Tarrant County. But last night she had her her mugshot plastered all over the news.
- If I had a parrot, I wonder if I'd be tempted to put it on my shoulder and pretend to be a pirate?
- I once busted my head wide open as a kid after falling off a diving board at a hotel in Miami and then hitting the concrete side. My mom tells me she looked up and said, "Look at all that blood. It looks like a shark attack. Uh, where's Barry?" True story. I've still got a scar on the back of my head.
- I was also knocked unconsciousness about two years later when I ran into a brick wall at my next door neighbor's house while going for a basketball rebound. My brother, he says, picked me up and stood me on my feet - only to have me fall over backwards hitting my head on the pavement again. I woke up four hours later on my couch after the doctor had made a house call. (Which tells you how long ago it was.) We didn't do an MRI or CAT scan because no one had ever heard of them back then in little Bridgeport, Texas.
- I had two other head injuries that required medical attention but I won't bore you with the details.
- I wonder if all those head injuries explain anything? I'm pretty sure I said something about a pirate a second ago.
- If I were young inner city black man who happened to be in a gang, I think I'd want to be in charge of the logistics of the drug selling in the projects. Wouldn't want to be involved in it, be the enforcer, or the money guy. I just want to design how it all went down. (Yep, I'm still watching The Wire.)
- Everyone asks me why I don't sell advertising space. Answer: I don't know. But I should set up a pay plan where you guys could see all the wild arse comments I receive that I don't allow to go through. It's like Taxi Cab Confessions. Only different.
- When I was a kid (man, lots of flashbacks today), my dad would occasionally proclaim, "The king is dead! Long live the king!" For years, I was ashamed to admit to him that I had no idea what he was talking about. But as I was mowing the lawn last weekend and listening to Coldplay's new "hit single", I heard these lyrics: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!" I smiled to myself at that moment on my lawn.
- Ranger Ian Kinsler has a 20 game hitting streak. To be in your early 20s and a major league success would be sweet.
- My favorite moment of the day is crawling into bed. That seems wrong.
- The Cowboys are offering, through Oct. 1, a chance for fans to buy an inscribed paver brick that will be installed on the Legacy Walk surrounding the stadium's exterior. The paver bricks come in three different options, costing $150, $300 or $375. I'm thinking "Ralph Hardy. Newark, Texas".
- I saw that story on the DMN's Cowboys blog. I loved this first comment: "$150, $300 or $375 for a brick? Of what, hash?"

Determining Number and Sex Of Children

During a lull at the courthouse today, someone proclaimed that a pregnancy test (described above) has been 100% accurate. It's the craziest thing I've ever heard, but he/she/it said it had been foolproof every time it had been used.

I then asked the person if a pentagram was involved.

Look out if you go up to the courthouse, I think we've got some Deviltry going on.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• It's been over a decade since the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that game wardens can stop a boat for no reason so long as they are doing a "safety check." Dumb decision.
  
• Saw a bunch of high school aged girls jogging through the streets of Decatur at 6:45 a.m. this morning. Maybe a cross country summer training program?
• KLIF had a guest host in the 6:00 o'clock hour and he was trying to force Texas political talk down the throats of his listeners. After a discussion of the Cornyn/Noriega race, some guy called up and said, "I ain't voting for no Mexican."
  
• The Dallas Morning News sports page this morning has "Early Big 12 Football Predictions." Good times.
• I don't think I appreciated the greatness of the Tracy Chapman song "Fast Car" when I was younger. (I stumbled upon it on Pop Up Videos last night - which I love.) Then they followed it up with "Blinded Me With Science" which I overrated when I was younger.
• Two points from this story about a bar being sued: (1) How's this for lawyer talk: “They allowed her to leave drunker than Cooter Brown, and she collided with other vehicles and T-boned my client’s vehicle" and (2) This sentence is a little unfair: "Paul Bezney, the Dallas attorney representing the [bar], said his clients generally deny the lawsuit’s allegation but otherwise declined to talk about specifics of the case." (Emphasis added.) A pleading filed in response to a lawsuit is called a General Denial. To say his clients "generally deny the lawsuit's allegation" isn't really the best way to phrase it.
• And before I use The Google, who exactly is this Cooter Brown that we have always heard of? Uh . . . answer.
• I've learned a new courtroom technique.
• The War on Drugs apparently doesn't even need drugs any more in Williamson County. Absolutely amazing.
  
• Do you ever wonder if there is a good picture of you to use in your obituary if you had an untimely death?
• I posted a clip of the Running of the Bulls yesterday. I think they do it for six or seven days in a row.
  
• And I promise on WBAP at 7:27 a.m. the local host (but not Hal Jay) was interviewing an ABC Correspondent from Spain about the Running of The Bulls. They asked her why people participated in the event and she gave the stock answers: excitement, challenge, tradition, etc. And then she said (and I am not making this up), "And, if you'll admit it, there is a sexual element to it." Followed by a long pause. Followed by local host saying, "Well I guess there's a romantic element to it."
  
• I don't know who Natalia Bush is but The Internets are going crazy because she went to the beach. And I understand why.
• I guess almost all Nazi war criminals, many who fled to Latin America, are dead now.
  
• Noticed that the Star Telegram combined its "Life" section and "Travel" section beginning last weekend. Not a good sign.
  
• Speaking of the Star Telegram, "The Watchdog" Dave Lieber emailed me yesterday about my "Watchdog Nation" comment. He was nice.
• Lots of news about the A-Rod divorce yesterday, but very few reported that they had a nuptial agreement. Here's the confusing part, it was executed prior to the marriage (which would normally make it a prenuptial agreement), but it bore a title of Antenuptial Agreement. The wife says its invalid. She would, wouldn't she.
  
• The Decatur Walmart as the Nacho Flavored Baked Doritos again.
  
• Watched a little of the Ranger game last night against the division leading Angels. Man, there are a ton of empty seats at the Ballpark.
• At this very moment there is a lady vacuuming my office two feet away from me.
  

Now That's A Great Idea

So they'll just move the Democratic National Convention outdoors for one night into a packed stadium of people going nuts. That will be a scene.

McCain may very well win the presidency, but events like this scare the heck out of the Republicans.

Worst Spam Title Ever?

Got this one a couple of minutes ago (and it did go to the Spam folder of Gmail - but a different email program i was looking at let it through).

Our First Running Of The Bulls Video Is In

Good times. Edit: After watching all of that, I kind of was pulling for the bulls to wipe all those guys out in the coliseum.

This, I'm Intertested In

The behind the scenes story of Boyd's own The Hammer and his demise at The Ticket will be the cover story in the next Dallas Observer by the great Richie Witt. It hits news stands in 48 hours.

For those that are interested, I know you are very interested. The others could care less. But for the former, here's a sneak preview.

(The new Hardline pictured above.)

Edit: A quick responding reader pointed out that Greg Williams' father has passed away per the Update. (That's the aforementioned Hammer). Tough times for him.

FUNERAL for Robert (Junior) Williams, 78, of Boyd is at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Springtown Church of Christ with burial in Boyd Cemetery. Family visitation from 6-8 tonight at Christian-Hawkins Funeral Home in Boyd.

Edit #2: Then someone else writes in and says that's not Greg's father.

Edit #3: Yep, it's his dad after further confirmation.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Caught a bit of Live Free Or Die Hard on HBO over the weekend. It looked ridiculous. I'm pretty sure I saw a fighter jet shooting off rockets at Bruce Willis as he drove down a freeway.
• Joey Lauren Adams has a sexy voice
• That computer generated review at Wimbledon to see if a ball was in or out is very cool.
• I've dogged Williamson County DA John Bradley for years. I'll be dang if he didn't send me the nicest email this weekend.
• I made a note on Sunday to be sure to mention that an incredible number of three people had drowned at local lakes over the weekend. Then I was watching Fox 4 last night and learned there were SEVEN people had drowned - with four of them at Lake Lewisville. Lake Bridgeport was death free (and I can't remember the last drowning we had there.)
• Not to mention three metroplex teenagers shot to death over the weekend.
• I wonder if anyone reads that syndicated Dave McNeely column in the Messenger?
• Did you see that a 41 year old woman qualified this weekend for the U.S. swim team for the Olympics? And she's a serious "Hey, now."
• Star Telegram wedding announcement: "She currently works at the U.S. Department of Education, where she is Chief of Staff, Office of Communications and Outreach." Uh, do we as taxpayers really need to fund that position?
• I think I'm going to cut down on approving the comments that are nothing more than name calling.
• Only seven DWI arrests in Denton County over the July 4th weekend?
• The women's final at Wimbledon was Serena Williams vs Venus Williams. As someone pointed out, how would you like one of the greatest moments of your life coming at the expense of someone you love?
• In Star Telegram writer Dave Lieber's column ("The Watchdog") this weekend about tracking down rock haulers, he actually referred to his readers as "the Watchdog Nation." Really.
• I'm excited about football season on the horizon. But I wish Wade Phillips wasn't the coach of the Cowboys. And I'll be triple excited as Baylor opens at home on TV and on a Thursday night against Wake Forest (But I predict failure.)
• I remember where I was when I first decided that I looked old. (Sadly, about five years ago in the Decatur Burger King drive though line when I glanced up as I adjusted my rear view mirror.)
• That men's Wimbledon final was incredible (but I admit that I ran an errand that took an hour or two only to come back to realize how exciting it really was.) By the way, that was the longest Wimbledon Final in the history of ever.
• I can't remember the last time I drank a 32 ounce Miller High Life after finding two human hands in my freezer. Like this guy in Fort Worth.
• I once proclaimed that I had never seen a good movie that did not "depict electricity." (Maybe my greatest proclamation ever.) But I admit that I now have a Mel Gibson Exception to this rule (Braveheart, Apocalyptica Apocalypto Edit: I thought that looked wrong.). Wait . . . and a Gladiator exception.
• I've always thought a great documentary would be to follow a person(s) as they walk out of the Huntsville prison system - especially those that have been there over 10 years. Where do they first go? What do they think when they see new technology?
• And did you know that inmates released in Texas are given a $50 check? Apparently there is a bus stop and a liquor store two miles away. A 32 ounce Miller High Life perhaps?
• I saw a lady in the grocery store mixing and matching eggs from different cartons (just like in Clerks.)
• My left facial cheek twitched a lot yesterday.

Motorcycle Infestation In Decatur This Weekend. No Deaths Reported.

And I have no idea what that lady is doing in the last pic.

(Thanks Tony)

Guy Over Lake Bridgeport Before Fireworks Began

(Thanks Tony.)

While Randomly Searching For "Fort Worth" In Flickr

"Another lovely woman working the drink booths at the 1993 Chisholm Trail Roundup. The festival was an annual event at the Fort Worth Stockyards until high insurance costs in the wake of 9-11 killed it in 2002"

I remember Chisholm Trail Days. I got separated from a buddy once almost 20 years ago and had to spend the night with friends I ran into. (Thankfully. But he had to drive back from Decatur the next morning to come get me.) But I didn't know Chisholm Trail Days had been shut down after 9/11.

I Heart My Readers

From an email:

We let our daughter go off with friends for fireworks. This is her face this morning. I said,"What happened?" She said," You know those sticks you hold and they shoot out fireballs? One came out and booped me on the face." It never occured to me they might let a 5 year old run around with a Roman Candle!!

And Then . . . Good Times

And then, yesterday, as I waited for the PVC cement to dry, I laid* down on the grass and took a picture looking straight up.
___________
* Not sure if this is grammatically correct.

Digging hole. Replacing broken PVC pipe. Heat. Equals beating.

Edit: Success. Well, not quite. It sprung a leak on one of the joints. So how exactly do you splice a short piece of PVC pipe? You have to put those couplings on each end which means it's too long to go in between the gap of the missing pipe that's been cut out.Ok, that's too hard to explain. Someone knows what I'm talking about and feels my pain.

Edit: Success. After one additional splice, it's holding.

Edit: You guys are doing some CSI work on the two photos. The first one was taken on the front side of the fence (that's a gap in a gate opening, not falling down.) The second was taken on the other side of the fence after significantly more digging. And, yes, even the front side has now been weedeated (sp.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• When I was a kid, my next door neighborset off a firework which was affectionately known back then as a "Cherry Bomb".  He put it in - get this - an empty home carpet roll. You know, that heavy cardboard tube that carpeting is wrapped around before its installation. It blew the end of it completely off. Crazy kids.
• The Letters to the Editor in People magazine may be the most inane writings ever. (i.e. "I applaud [insert name] for being a role model my daughter can look up to. She has her act together!"
• I was a huge Journey fan as a teenager but, per my policy of "moving on", I don't listen to them now. But I saw where they are touring with a Steve Perry sound-a-like named Arnel Pineda who they found on youtube (seriously).  I haven't even pulled up a clip to hear his voice. 
• Will Smith being an ultra cool superhero ("Hancock") doesn't do much for me.
• I'll be at the Wave Pool this afternoon. I'm the 312th person to the left. 
• A close friend told me to rent the Showtime TV series "Californication". (12-part series about a troubled novelist whose move to Los Angeles and problems with his job complicate the relationships with his ex-girlfriend.) I will.
• Sometimes on this here blog I put the titles of shows/movies in quotes and sometimes I put them in italics.
• I completely missed the ex-golfer Greg Norman married ex-tennis star Chris Everett
• I once saw Greg Norman eating at Riscky's in downtown Fort Worth during Colonial. I refer to it as the night Greg Norman and I dined together.
• I sat at center court at SMU pretending to be a Dallas Times Herald reporter holding a huge camera during a Virginia Slims Tennis Final between Chris Everett and Martina Navratilova. (A real photographer buddy hooked me up.)
• Ok, do not click on this in celebration of the 4th of July. It involves very foul language, partial booty nudity, drinking, and . . . uh . . . a bottle rocket.You are seriously not a good person if you click on that.
• Sean's BBQ in Decatur "has applied for a liquor license and once that is in place, hours will be extended and the staff will be increased."  Karaoke while rib eating is next.
• I have never referred to a client as "my client" in front of a jury. I call him/her by their first name.
• I saw a well dressed 20 something year old cute girl in a Fort Worth yesterday walking along a strip mall parking lot crying her eyes out. I wonder what had happened?
• The first five minutes of the next Batman movie, The Dark Night, has been released. Man, that looks "pretty, pretty, pretty good."
• Some gal named Kenda Culpepper has been nominated by the Republicans in Rockwall County to be on the ballot for DA this fall. (It's all screwed up since the incumbent Republican is, uh, in prison.) You can see her in various pics here at some Young Republican function. If you look closely, you'll see one minority amongst a crew that really looks like they know how to party. 
• For maybe the first time in my life, I'm seriously worried about the economy and a possible implosion. I don't think we understand what $4 a gallon gas (and its collateral impact) does to the average American.
• "'This is just another example of how the Weatherford/Parker County Special Crimes Unit is doing an outstanding job putting drug dealers in jail,' said Interim Police Chief Greg Lance." Someone emailed this story about a HUGE drug bust telling me that my head would explode after I read it. It did.
• Happy 4th of July. A country that is 232 years old isn't that old at all. But, then again, we don't know what our average country life span is.